Haresco has proposed House Bill 3693, in which, he has pressed upon to use pictures, which depict the harsh consequences of smoking on cigarette packages. This lawmakerstated that smokers by smoking did not harm themselves, but others as well, who inhale second-hand smoke. "Smoking causes mouth, throat and respiratory diseases, including lung cancer, the most prevalent cause of cancer-related deaths among males", said Haresco.

Background: Five tobacco companies challenged the order in five different Philippine courts. Two judges issued injunction orders temporarily preventing its implementation, while a third, Judge Brigido Luna of the Parañaque Regional Trial Court, issued a final decision last September 8 in favor of the owners of La Suerte Cigar and Cigarette Factory by declaring Cabral’s (former Health Secretary Esperanza Cabral of the Department of Health (DOH)) order "null and void." The Department of Health has elevated the issue to the Supreme Court. The Department of Health has elevated the issue to the Supreme Court. (Philippines - remarks at the Asia Pacific Conference on Tobacco or Health ..)

Haresco is of the view, that the approach of conveying harmful effects of smoking through textual or written warnings is not enough to curb the menace. He felt that picture-based warnings had a greater impact on the mind of smokers and non-smokers.The proposed bill includes, conveying an anti-smoking message both through a picture-based warning and a textual warning on cigarette packs.Fines will be imposed on manufactures for not adhering to the regulations contained in the bill. For the first offense, there will be a fine of P1 million, P5 million fine for a second violation and a fine of P20 million or imprisonment of not more than one year or both, along with cancelling business permit and license for third breach. [1 USD = 44.0500 PHP]

November 27, 2010 - Though there has been a sharp decline in the flow of contraband goods from Cambodia into the Mekong Delta, cigarette smuggling remains rampant. Customs officials in An Giang and Long An provinces said smuggling of beer, wine, sugar, petrol and electronic products was sharply down because the disparity in prices is small but cigarette smuggling has worsened.

Dong Thap Province on the border is considered the smuggling hub in the delta. Recently customs officials there discovered 12 cases of smuggled goods worth VND234 million ($11,700), made up mostly of about 5,000 packs of cigarettes.

Deputy head of the Customs Department Le Van Chien said smuggling was hard to prevent because cigarettes were easily divided into small portions for many people to carry over the border. Kien Giang, the province that has been the most successful in fighting smuggling in the region, reported that this year customs officers discovered 38 cases, mostly cigarettes. Every year hundreds of thousands of packs were destroyed, it said.

The smuggling goes on with impunity because the penalties are not deterrent enough, with only small fines slapped on anyone caught smuggling.

Tran Minh Tien, deputy head of the Kien Giang Customs Department, said smugglers' tricks were becoming more and more sophisticated.

Tien said smuggled cigarette accounted for 80 percent of supply in the Mekong Delta and HCM City.According to the Viet Nam Tobacco Association, smuggled cigarettes accounts for 20 percent of the amount consumed in Viet Nam. In some places it is much higher—70percent in Can Tho, 46 percent in HCM City, and 41 percent in the southern provinces.Cigarettes have been smuggled into the country since the 1980s, with volumes reaching 300 – 400 million packs a year initially. But the situation has worsened since. By 2007 it had risen to 630 million, and to 800 million last year. Officials seized and destroyed 7.3 million packs last year, or less than 1 per cent of the amount smuggled into the country, according to the association.

It is estimated that the country loses at least VND3 trillion (US$150 million) in taxes while the foreign currency drain is $200 million.

Recently the Government said it would take criminal action against anyone caught smuggling more than 1,500 packs. Those caught with less than 1,500 packs will be fined VND100 million ($5,100). —VNS

November 27, 2010 - Government has faced a revenue loss of Rs 45 billion (524,781,341.11 USD) during the last six years on account of tax evasion, smuggling and counterfeiting in cigarette industry due to failure of government’s authorities in taking concrete steps. According to industrial data, government had to face a revenue loss of Rs 7.5 billion in the current year, Rs 6.5 billion in 2009, Rs 6 billion in 2008, Rs 5.59 billion in 2007, Rs 5.48 billion in 2006 and Rs 4.1 billion in 2005 on account of tax evasion. [1 USD = 85.7500 PKR]

On the other hand, due to counterfeiting in cigarette industry, the government had to bear a revenue loss of Rs 0.5 billion in the current fiscal year, Rs 1 billion in 2009, Rs 0.25 billion in 2008, Rs 0.24 billion in 2007, Rs 0.10 billion in 2006 and Rs 0.48 billion in 2005.

Due to smuggling, government had to swallow a bitter pill of revenue loss amounting to Rs 1.5 Billion in the current year, Rs 1.5 billion in 2009, Rs 1.22 billion in 2008, Rs 1.34 billion in 2007, Rs 1.22 billion in 2006 and Rs 1.4 billion in 2005.

Industry sources said that government has failed to take practical measures to halt tax evasion, counterfeiting and smuggling in cigarette industry, which is resulting in loss of billion of rupees to exchequer.

November 26, 2010 - In what can be termed as a rude wake-up call to all those who consider secondhand smoke (passive smoking, shs, environmental tobacco smoke, ets, involuntary smoking. sidestream smoke) merely an annoyance, a new study claims that it is a serious health threat that claims thousands of lives every year worldwide.

An international study by the World Health Organization (WHO), which analyzed data from 192 countries, estimates that in 2004 passive smoking was responsible for the demise of over 600,000 people, including 165,000 children.

Co-author of the study, Professor Alistair Woodward from the University of Auckland stated, "The 1.2 billion smokers around the world are not only putting themselves at risk; they are harming the health of billions of non-smokers, and it is children who suffer most.”

The report found that exposure to secondhand smoke led to nearly 379,000 deaths from ischaemic heart disease, 165,000 from lower respiratory infections, 36,900 from asthma, and 21,400 from lung cancer.

However, in developed countries such as Europe, only 71 children died because of secondhand smoke, while 35,388 deaths occurred in adults.

Lead author of the study, Dr Annette Pruss-Ustun from the WHO in Geneva, Switzerland stated, "Exposure to second-hand smoke is still one of the most common indoor pollutants worldwide. "On the basis of the proportions of second-hand smoke exposure, as many as 40% of children, 35% of women and 33% of men are regularly exposed to second-hand smoke indoors. "We have estimated that second-hand smoke caused 603,000 deaths worldwide in 2004, corresponding to 1% of all deaths. "These deaths should be added to the estimated 5.1 million deaths attributable to active smoking to obtain the full effect of both passive and active smoking. "Smoking, therefore, was responsible for more than 5.7 million deaths every year in 2004."

Experts theorize that prohibition of smoking in public places could dramatically reduce health care costs and cut passive smoking mortality. However, presently only 7.4 percent of the world's population lives in countries where lighting up is banned in public spaces. Even in such countries, where measures to convey the harmful impact of smoking are adopted, the laws are not always rigid. Research has indicated that enforcement of anti-smoking laws reduces the exposure to secondhand smoke in places such as bars and restaurants by 90 percent. In addition, such regulations can lower tobacco consumption and also help people quit smoking.

Pruss-Ustun stated, "Policy-makers should bear in mind that enforcing complete smoke-free laws will probably substantially reduce the number of deaths attributable to exposure to second-hand smoke within the first year of its implementation, with accompanying reduction in costs of illness in social and health systems.”

The study was sponsored by the Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare and Bloomberg Philanthropies.

November 26, 2010 - City of Rome Georgia – Floyd County GA.. If all goes as planned, Steve Hulsey and his family will be giving thanks today for his eighth day in a row without a cigarette. The Floyd County utilities administrator quit smoking Nov. 18, spurred by the free turkey the county was offering employees who participated in the American Cancer Society’s Great American Smokeout.

“I went cold turkey to win a turkey,” Hulsey said Wednesday, chewing rhythmically on a slim plastic stir-straw. Of the 11 employees who won turkeys by going without a cigarette for 24 hours,

Hulsey and his water department clerk Ellen Harrison are among the six who opted to continue their battles against the lure of nicotine, according to county wellness coordinator Sandy McCollum. “I was really encouraged,” McCollum said. “They have turkeys for Thanksgiving and, hopefully, a Thanksgiving without all that smoke.”

County employees who smoke will pay a $20 surcharge every two-week pay period for their medical benefits beginning July 1. The fee offsets what would have been an even higher hike in premiums than the nearly 30 percent that kicked in Oct. 1 — but officials wanted to give workers a chance to quit before imposing it. Employees also get a $400 discount for participating in the wellness program.McCollum said the wide-ranging program offers periodic four-week smoking cessation classes and will pay for the first month of withdrawal aids such as Nicorette nicotine lozenges. “We’re doing several things to help our smokers quit, to help them get healthy,” she said. “Not only are we concerned about employees’ health in general, but smoking drives up insurance claims.”

November 25, 2010 - Every third adult man and every fifth woman smokes in Poland, according to findings from the Global Adult Tobacco Survey Poland (GATS) published by the Ministry of Health and conducted under the auspices of the World Health Organization.

Altogether, 27 percent of the population over 18 years of age (8.7 million people) smoke on a daily basis, according to daily Puls Biznesu which quotes the results. When occasional smokers are included the figure is bigger by a million. Smokers spend an average of zł.208.5 a month on factory-produced cigarettes, generating zł.20 billion in tax revenues for the Treasury.

The authors of the report also show, however, that the medical treatment of chronic lung diseases, asthma, heart conditions and lung cancer which result from smoking may cost Poland up to zł.200 billion in the next 20 years, while the costs of medical care provided to passive smokers may reach zł.22 billion in the same period.(1.00 Poland Zlotych = 0.335473 USD)

On top of that, the economy loses billions of złoty owing to workers' premature deaths resulting from smoking.

Uruguay was first South Americancountry to ban closed public smoking.. November 25, 2010 - Uruguay's Supreme Court on Friday, November 19th dismissed a constitutional challenge brought by tobacco giant Philip Morris International (PMI) that disputes the tiny South American country's anti-tobacco laws. "The complaint of unconstitutionality is unanimously rejected," the court said in its decision on Uruguay's restrictions on smoking and tobacco products, the first of their kind in Latin America, introduced in March 2006.

It is ‘an essential duty of the state… to adopt all measures it considers necessary to maintain the collective health [of its citizens],’ said the court.

According to official data, the smoking population in Uruguay has dropped from 32 percent in 2006 to 25 percent this year. One study showed the number of heart attacks has fallen by 17 percent in the same period.

Massachusetts Hospital Association (MHA), a not-for-profit organization, that announced this month (November 2010) that it will no longer hire individuals who use tobacco products.

"MHA and its members hospitals have long been committed to initiatives that promote the health and welfare of our patients and communities. The negative impact of tobacco use on health is well documented. In Massachusetts alone, smoking is the leading cause of preventable death and disease," they said in a statement on their website.

The move could set a precedent for hospitals -- an other organizations -- nationwide. And Lynn Nicholas, the CEO of the Association, which consists of more than 100 of hospitals in the state, wanted it that way. She decided to take the ban public as a way to raise awareness about the tobacco use, the number one cause of preventable death in the United States.

The hiring ban makes sense for a hospital, whose employees are meant to care for sick and serve, at least in some capacity, as role models for healthy living. In addition, not hiring tobacco users is a savvy way to reduce healthcare costs.

Smokers are not a protected class of workers, so the ban doesn't violate federal law. Police and fire departments in the state stopped hiring smokers in 1997 as part of a change in their pension system. But while MA state law permits the ban, 29 states do have laws discriminating against hiring smokers.

The ban will go into effect on January 1, 2011, and will not effect current employees. It builds on their existing policy of having a completely tobacco-free workplace, and is part of a broader movement to curb tobacco use throughout Massachusetts hospitals.Going beyond a simple "no smoking" policy in the workplace, the hiring ban is not meant to dictate what employees do with their free time, but rather, what type of workplace they foster. According to MHA's website, "it is important for MHA to walk the walk and talk the talk in terms of a healthy work environment, given that our members are healthcare providers and leaders."

Other hospitals around the country have also decided against hiring tobacco users. Memorial Hospital in Tennessee recently decided not to hire smokers to set an example in the community. In Ohio, the Cleveland Clinic and Summa Health Systems have a tobacco-free hiring policies. In 2005, the World Health Organization decided to stop hiring smokers.

Star Scientific announced today, November 23rd that oral argument of its appeal has been docketed for January 11, 2011 by the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Star has appealed the June, 2009 verdict that resulted from the jury trial of its patent infringement lawsuit against RJ Reynolds Tobacco Company in the US District Court for Maryland, and is being represented by Carter Phillips, Esquire, of the law firm Sidley Austin LLP.

A three-judge panel will review the parties' written briefs and hear oral arguments, and will issue its ruling on the appeal thereafter. The company looks forward to this opportunity and continues to believe that it ultimately will be successful in the judicial process.

November 24, 2010 - Philadelphia police arrested a man for allegedly assaulting a Philadelphia cab driver Saturday morning. The 53-year-old driver picked up 21-year-old Justin Niezporowicz of Port Richmond on the 200 block of Brown Street around 1:50 a.m.As he was driving, he noticed that Niezporowicz was smoking and told him to put it out. That’s when Niezporowicz allegedly extinguished his cigarette on the cab driver’s face. Police then say that the suspect got out of the vehicle and punched the cab driver. When the driver tried to run away, he fell and struck his head on a fire hydrant. Niezporowicz then continued to hit the driver as he was on the ground, according to authorities.

The unidentified cab driver was taken to Hahnemann Hospital. There is currently no word on his condition. Niezporowicz is charged with aggravated assault, simple assault and other related charges, police said.

OMAHA, NEBRASKA - Police jailed a Nebraska man Monday, November 22 after he turned fighting mad at a restaurant, after employees asked him to put out his cigarette. Omaha police say Earl Davis, 31, was so beaten down by the request, he broke tables, chairs and big-screen TVs. Officers say he was still damaging property when they arrived, and they had to Taser him to calm him down. Davis was taken to a hospital to be checked out, and was then arrested on charges of felony destruction, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct. (Copyright 2010 by VERTEXNews/Newsroom Solutions)

November 24, 2010 - Back on August 21, 2009 the Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) Municipality said that it will recommend a ban on electronic cigarettes, as tests carried out by the municipality have found the electronic device to be a health hazard which contains carcinogens and toxic materials. 'There is general agreement in the GCC Tobacco Control Committee that e-cigarettes should not be circulated in the [Gulf] market as therapy,' Dr Wedad Al Maidoor, head of Tobacco Control Team at the MoH has said. (Dubai to push e-cigarette ban, AMEInfo.com, 8/19/2009) (Dubai, UAE customs blocks e-cigarette shipment..)

GCC states (Gulf Cooperation Council includes: Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and the Sultanate of Oman) and other Middle Eastern and African countries.

Now following the UAE example, a number of GCC countries are considering a ban on the electronic cigarette citing health concerns. Health officials have warned that the smokeless stick that burns up to provide a kick to smokers is as harmful to health as the tobacco-filled cigarette.

The US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) laboratory analysis of electronic cigarette samples had found that they contain carcinogens and toxic chemicals such as diethylene glycol, an ingredient used in antifreeze. (FDA: Electronic cigarettes contain toxic chemicals..)

“There is no scientific paper to prove that the e-cigarette is any less harmful to health,” she said after the decision was taken during a recently held meeting of the Gulf Committee for Tobacco Control in Riyadh. She also said that a sample test of the e-cigarettes by Dubai Municipality had found them to contain ingredients harmful to health.

“In Bahrain, the e-cigarette is available on prescription but we are trying to push for total ban,” she added.

A unified tobacco control law across the GCC countries is also being drafted. The first draft of the Model Law on Tobacco Control, which is prepared by the regional office of the World Health Organisation (WHO) and Kuwait was also presented at the at the meeting.

November 23, 2010 - Philip Morris International (PMI) responded today, November 20th to comments reported in the media concerning a Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) claim filed by PMI's affiliates against the government of Uruguay. Many of these reports are misleading and omit important facts about tobacco regulations in Uruguay and our lawsuit.

Background: November 17, 2010 - Mayor Bloomberg made the donation to help Uruguay's anti-smoking groups fend off lawsuits brought on by the massive tobacco corporations. He said his money "will assist Uruguayan government officials by providing legal research and expertise, launching public education mass media campaigns, and galvanizing world support and public opinion." New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg gives $500,000 to defend anti-smoking laws in Uruguay..;

PMI is not seeking to prevent the government from protecting the health of its citizens. The regulations we are challenging are extreme and ineffective measures that have created an environment conducive to the black market in cigarettes. According to the Tobacco Atlas 2009, Uruguay already has the fourth highest incidence of contraband cigarettes in the world. Recent studies confirm that consumption of contraband cigarettes is equivalent to over 25% of all cigarettes sold in Uruguay.One example of these extreme and ineffective regulations is the 2009 ordinance that forced companies to withdraw all but one pack variation per cigarette brand. PMI complied pulling 7 out of 12 brand varieties from the market, including Marlboro variants representing 40% of Marlboro sales. On the other hand, the local Uruguayan tobacco company with 77% market share merely renamed its existing brand variants, keeping all of its packs on the market. The government has done nothing to enforce the law against the local company which has evaded it, while PMI, which has complied fully, has suffered substantial damages resulting from the removal of many of our well known international brands.

Commenting on the case, Even Hurwitz, Senior Vice President Corporate Affairs, PMI said, "Our lawsuit is not a question of public health versus business. We are challenging regulations which are not fairly applied to all companies, add further fuel to Uruguay's huge black market in cigarettes and have not even been shown to reduce smoking prevalence."

Contrary to some media reports PMI is not seeking and did not file lawsuits to overturn public place smoking restrictions, lift advertising restrictions, prevent all graphic warnings on cigarette packs or reverse bans on descriptors such as "milds" or "lights".

Click to enlarge..November 23, 2010 - Makkah (Mecca) and Madinah (Medina have both been declared no-smoking zones by the Ministry of Health and shops there are prohibited from selling cigarettes. During the current Haj season, the ministry intensified its campaign on making the holy cities completely tobacco-free. The ministry has set up six anti-smoking clinics in Makkah as part of the campaign. The clinics are open to male and female smokers and services are offered free of charge.

More than 500 pilgrims quit smoking during the current Haj season thanks to the efforts of a voluntary anti-smoking society called, Kafa (Enough).

Hundreds of pilgrims of various nationalities visited Kafa’s mobile clinic, the largest of its kind, stationed closed to the Grand Mosque, said Ibrahim Al-Hamda, the society’s director.

“The clinic cost an estimated SR1 million. It is located in a large bus, equipped with all the required medical instruments and facilities needed for smokers to quit. There are two sections in the clinic. The first is for receiving pilgrims who want treatment to quit,” he said.He added that the clinic can provide treatment to four people at a time while another four people wait in the waiting area.

“The clinic has been implementing a special program for Haj targeting pilgrims who smoke. We started implementing the program in two phases from the beginning of Dul Hijjah. The first phase is focused on implementing field awareness programs around the courtyards of the Grand Mosque,” he said.

Now we find that the government is considering forcing tobacco companies to package their cigarettes in plain brown wrappers in a bid to de-glamorise smoking and stop young people taking up the habit. The health secretary, Andrew Lansley, is investigating the viability of introducing what would be one of the most radical public health measures ever implemented in the UK. Senior doctors welcomed the potential ban on colours and logos on packets and said it could prove as effective as the 2007 public smoking ban. However, ministers are likely to face a legal challenge if they go ahead.

"We have to try new approaches and take decisions to benefit the population. That's why I want to look at the idea of plain packaging," said Lansley. "The evidence is clear that packaging helps to recruit smokers, so it makes sense to consider having less attractive packaging. It's wrong that children are being attracted to smoke by glitzy designs on packets."

Lansley stressed that the need to prevent children from starting to smoke in the first place was his main motivation for taking seriously a policy which the tobacco industry fears would be hugely damaging. "We would prefer it if people did not smoke, and adults will still be able to buy cigarettes [even if plain packs come in], but children should be protected from the start," he said.

The health secretary indicated that some further restrictions on smoking are likely. They could be unveiled in his white paper on public health, which is due within days. "The levels of poor health and deaths from smoking are still far too high, and the cost to the NHS and the economy is vast. That money could be used to educate our children and treat cancer," said Lansley.

His readiness to countenance such draconian action against cigarette manufacturers drew praise and delight from leading medical organisations. "We are very pleased that the health secretary supports the plain packaging of cigarettes. There is clear evidence that young people find packaging appealing," said a spokesman for the British Medical Association. "And we know that the tobacco industry spends huge amounts on this clever marketing to enhance their brands and increase sales."Australia is set to become the first country in the world to introduce plain packs in 2012, although tobacco manufacturers have mounted legal action to try to stop the measure. The European Union is considering a ban. (Australia - world set to follow Australian tobacco policy..)

Lansley's move is a surprise. The Conservatives opposed plain packets when Gordon Brown's Labour administration undertook a consultation on the idea. But this fresh examination may help to allay fears among medical chiefs at the direction of the coalition's public health policies after, for example, Lansley criticised Jamie Oliver's campaign to improve school lunches in England.

November 22, 2010 - Going ‘cold turkey’ – stopping smoking immediately and without product assistance – is still the most popular way of quitting among Australians, especially younger Australians.

A new survey from the Cancer Institute NSW of more than 1000 recent quitters will be presented today (Oct 8) to an international conference (Asia Pacific Conference on Tobacco or Health) in Sydney. The survey shows:

* Most Australians quit ‘cold turkey’ or by cutting down then quitting, reporting that these methods were helpful.* ‘Cold turkey’ is by far the most popular method, 69% using it alone or with other methods.* Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT), and ‘cutting down then quitting’, are the next most popular, with 29% each.* Younger quitters are more likely to stop smoking unassisted than older quitters.* Older or less educated quitters are more likely to use assisted methods such as prescribed medication or general practitioner advice.Lead author of the study, Dr Wai Tak (Arthur) Hung, said: “Our survey suggests that efforts to reduce the overall smoking rate in the Australian community can be best served by continuing to motivate smokers to quit through anti-tobacco mass media campaigns and to support smokers choosing ‘cold turkey’ and ‘cut down then quit’ approaches.

“We should also continue to assess the effectiveness and accessibility of other methods, to ensure a diversity of needs are met, such as smokers of disadvantaged backgrounds or those that prefer assisted methods.”

The Australian government is aiming to reduce the smoking rate by continuing to motivating smokers to quit smoking through mass multi-media campaigns. They also plan to put in place strategies to help smokers quitting ‘cold-turkey’ and who cut down before quitting, helping people to successfully kick the habit for good.

The findings from the research were presented at the Asia Pacific Conference on Tobacco or Health 2010, which was held in Sydney.

November 22, 2010 - from the National Assembly of the Republic of Bulgaria - changes in the tobacco taxes..

Cigarettes longer than eight centimeters, without the filter, will be subject to double excise duty. This is stipulated with the amendments passed on second reading to the Excise Duty and Tax Warehouse Act. The excise duty for each cigarette longer than eight centimeters, without the filter and mouthpiece, but less than 11 cm will equal the one for two cigarettes. Currently this has applied to cigarettes longer than 9 cm up to 18 cm.

The amendments increase also the price of plain tobacco, which will be taxed the same as fine cut tobacco. This will be done by expanding the definition of fine-cut tobacco - for such will now be considered tobacco, in which the tobacco particles have a cut width of less than 1.5 mm, currently being - less than 1 millimeter.

In brief, the adopted change to the tobacco excise duty ups the price of tobacco from the present BGN 100 (69.57 USD) to BGN 130 (90.45 USD) per kilogram. The law prescribes the price to rise to BGN 152 (105.69 USD) per kilogram as of January 1, 2012.

The government's motive for the increase is that it would equalize the tax burden for this product with the excise duty for manufactured cigarettes. Following its last year's increase, cut tobacco turned out to be much cheaper than manufactured cigarettes and its consumption increased over 200 times, according to data from the Finance Ministry.

November 22, 2010 - The Health Ministry is reportedly planning to significantly soften a blanket smoking ban introduced in September following “tremendous pressure” from bar and restaurant owners who claim the changes, together with the impact of the economic crisis, are ruining them.

"This is the worst thing that could happen to a lawmaker and the government which has to enforce the law -- the refusal of society to comply with the rules," Health Minister Andreas Loverdos told Skai radio.

According to sources, the ministry is considering permitting smoking in cafes and bars after 9 p.m. while keeping the blanket ban in place for restaurants. Cafes and bars that decide to permit smoking would not be allowed to serve patrons aged under 18, according to the amendments reportedly under consideration.The ministry’s general secretary, Antonis Dimopoulos, said authorities have been besieged by complaints from bar and cafe owners claiming to have seen their business plummet. “We cannot ignore reality,” Dimopoulos said. “We did not expect such tremendous pressure from business owners.” Dimopoulos said many bar and cafe owners claimed to have lost customers to rivals defying the ban.

It remained unclear which, if any, of the aforementioned measures the government would adopt and whether these changes would be acceptable to the European Commission, whose regulations Greece must adhere to as a member state. If the changes are made, they will probably be announced in the first week of December after a conference on smoking being organized by the ministry in Athens in cooperation with Harvard University. (Harvard SPH to help Greece with smoking ban..)